Back to the Past
by Paradocks
Summary: An older Phil goes back and visits his younger self with troubling news from the future. It's a lot more interesting than it sounds. Go and read it. I dare you.
1. The Journey

**A/N: Ok here was an idea I had floating around for quite a while and I finally wrote it down. This is only my seconed fanfic and I havn't even finished the first one. So reviews are welcomed.**

**Disclaimer: Phil of the Future was my idea but then Disney stole it before I could copyright it. It's the truth. Stop looking at me like that. Fine we all know that I don't' own it and I didn't come up with it. But I did come up with this story all on my own.

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The old time machine shook left and right and the emergency symbol was flashing bright red. Pieces of debris were falling off. Phil gripped the seat tightly ignoring all the noisy alarms around him. His eyes were fixed on the screen showing what year he was in. 2049, 2035, 2020. He was almost there. The time machine just had to hold in a few seconds longer. 2018, 2013, 2010. The shaking increased violently and Phil was thrown from one end of the machine to another. 2008, 2007, 2006. Phil hurt all over but his concentration and determination never wavered. 2005. The shaking stopped and Phil was thrown against the back of the machine. He had arrived. Trembling slightly Phil stood up. His head felt like he had a minor concussion but other then that he was in one piece.

The door slowly opened revealing a small forest. Phil realized that he was in the park. Stepping out of the time machine Phil evaluated the damage. It looked even worse then when Dad was trying to fix it all those years ago. Turning around Phil breathed in deeply savouring the fairly clean air. He stepped out from behind the trees that had covered his arrival and now concealed the beaten up RV. The park was just as he remembered it right down to the colour of the sand in the playground. Phil recalled that his old house wasn't that far from the park. Thankfully, the place was deserted and Phil didn't have to hide walking through. The street was deserted too and Phil was able to walk across without hiding his face although he still did it in case anyone was watching from a window. He J-walked over to his house and went around to the backyard fence. Peeking over he was able to see that no one was in the back. He took a big breath like he used to do when he was nervous and climbed over. After all even if he was reverting to childish habits the fate of the world still depended on him completing his self-given mission.

He took out his old key, slightly rusty from years without use. Luckily, it still worked and Phil entered a place he hadn't seen in ten years. It was picture perfect. Everything in its place. Obviously Mom had recently been on one of her cleaning splurges. Phil sighed nostalgically and just stood there lost in past memories of simpler times. He shook himself out of this reminding himself that he didn't go through all that just to sit here and remember. He walked up the stairs tiptoeing all the way. He reached the landing and turned towards the closed door to what was his room. Phil knocked.

"Hello," a voice called, "I thought everyone had left. Or is that you Keel." The owner of the voice opened the door and Phil found he was staring at himself.

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**A/N: Okay end of Chapter one. How'd you like it? Don't tell me now just go and write it as a review. :) I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible but I'm going away tomorrow so it might not be up till Tuesday.**


	2. The Explanation

**A/N: Wow I wasn't expecting so many reviews so fast. To reply to them:**

**Sultan Peppershaker: I hope this chapter gets rid of some of that confusion. Yes them meeting probably creates an endless number of time paradoxes but…I can't make everything fit perfectly. :)**

**Zeusfluff: Thanks you so much for the compliment and I'm so glad you enjoy it. :)**

**Hermione781: Yeah I noticed that too. As much I love Pheely I'm also rather fascinated by the whole time travel thing and where it could lead. I have an endless number of story ideas around that. But one story at a time. :)**

**koolishcutie112092: I'm glad you like it and here is the update. :)**

**Okay folks bear with me this first part is a bit hard to follow.

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The two figures stood looking at each other closely for a minute till finally the younger Phil said, "Alright Pim what are you trying to pull? I can tell it's you using the Wizard to change your body. What do you want?"

Ignoring the boy, older Phil burst past him into the room. He automatically scanned the area making sure there were no listening devices or video cameras. He closed the windows and set up a few devices that the younger Phil didn't recognize. Young Phil looked on amused then curiously when he saw the devices. "Are you playing spy again Pim? Hey, what are those things? I've never seen them before." Young Phil started reaching out to pick it up but Old Phil's reflexes were faster as he shot out and gripped the other's wrist firmly.

"They filter out noise. No one will be able to hear us. They weren't invented yet when you left." Old Phil let go of the other boy's hand and turned back to what he was doing. Young Phil looked on with a worried and confused expression.

"You're not Pim are you."

Old Phil took a couple seconds more pushing buttons that would activate the filters. Then he reached over and closed the still open door. Finally, he sat down on the bed and regarded his younger self, wondering how much he could and should tell himself. At last he said, "No I'm not Pim."

Young Phil took a step back and examined the man's features more closely. At last he recognized his own hair on this man's head even if it was extremely dirty. He recognized his own brown eyes even though they were filled with sadness as if they had seen years of sorrow. This man and him were one and the same. "You're me aren't you? An older me, from the future. That must mean I go back to the future. That Dad fixes the time machine. That I leave everything…and everyone behind." The boy who had been getting worked up let his excitement drop as the full realization dawned on him. He left Keely behind.

Old Phil calmly observed this display of emotions and outbursts till it had passed. Then he grasped the boy's shoulder firmly and forced him to sit in the chair opposite him. "I think you should let me tell you the whole story from the beginning."

Young Phil nodded numbly but suddenly looked up as something occurred to him. "I think it will be easier on both of us or at least my brain if I could think of you as something other than "Older Me."

Old Phil considered this then replied, "I have used many names over the years but one that I have grown rather fond of is Victor. Now be quiet and listen."

Phil sat back and prepared for what seemed would be a long story. Victor continued. "About a month from today, Dad fixed the time machine. This raised all sorts of question of whether we should go back or not. I had realized by that time that I liked Keely even if I hadn't told her yet."

Phil interrupted, "What do you mean like? Of course I, I mean, you, I mean…" Phil tried again, "She's our best friend of course we'd like her."

"I mean I really liked her. As in more then friends."

"I don't like her in that way. We're just friends! Nothing more. Friend boy. We…"

Victor cut him off harshly, "Don't lie to me. I'm you. I know how I felt and how you feel. I know that you've considered it a possibility. The way she makes you feel when you're around her." Victor stared at a picture of Phil and Keely on the nearby desk lost in memories. Finally he forced himself to come back to reality. "Now be quiet and don't interrupt. I figured I had the perfect solution. I would borrow a newer time machine from a friend, a real friend not like Andy. I would be able to visit her every day. I would be able to live in both centuries at once. It was a win-win situation. It couldn't fail. I should have known after being on this vacation that time is never that simple. I left Keely slightly teary-eyed but I had promised her I would be back. When I arrived in the future though things were not the same. My family arrived in front of the rental place where we had left originally only a year later so as not to make things harder on us by being older than all our friends. The place was different though. It was only a waterslide dealer now, no more time machines. The moment we stepped outside of the RV we were arrested by something called "The Kelow Police". We were thrown into a dungeon in separate cities. Sitting in the cell day by day was one of the loneliest times of my life. I had lots of time to think and I slowly pieced together what had happened. The future must have been changed somehow. I spent days going over our time in the past trying to see where we could have slipped up. I saw some parts where we could have altered it slightly but nothing this drastic. It wasn't until three months after I first arrived that I found out who was behind it all." **(A/N: I could leave you hanging here but I'm too nice)**

"They took me out of the cell and walked me down a long hallway. I soon found myself pushed to a kneeling position in front of an empty platform. A guard called out "All hail the Empress." I heard the sound of a motor flying overhead but I wasn't able to look up as a pair of strong hands was holding down my head. The sound of the motor stopped and a female voice resonated around the room, "Let him up Alfred. Let me see his face."

"The pressure keeping my head down left and I looked up at the face that had imprisoned my family and me. It was an old face with wrinkles everywhere. She looked to be over one hundred. The motor had been a flying wheelchair that she sat on, on the platform. Her hair was grey and she had eyes that were strangely familiar. I just couldn't put my finger on it. She stared down at me with what looked like hatred in her eyes. "So, Phil Diffy," her voice called out. For someone so old she looked to be in pretty good condition, "We meet again. How does is feel to be the one who doesn't know what is going on? Who is waiting month after month? Do you like it?"

"I don't know who you are or why you hate my family and me. What did we ever do to deserve your hate?" I replied. She looked at me till finally she burst out laughing, "You really don't know who I am. I should have known when you didn't come that you had forgotten me."

"I looked at her and it suddenly came to me what happened. Oh how time could be cruel! The old woman in front of me who hated me so was none other then Keely! I realized she must have liked me more then I ever realized. Sure I had liked her but I couldn't really believe that she shared my feelings. She must have held so much on that promise I made her. Waited year after year for me to come till finally she cracked. She set out to take over the world under one empire where she ruled and controlled everything. Probably one of the first rules she had made was no time travelling, which was why we were arrested. Time travel had taken so much from her life. Some of this she told me other parts I figured out on my own. But when I returned to my cell that day I finally had a purpose." Victor was crying now as the memories flooded back.

Phil stared at Victor as if he were loony. "I don't believe this. I could never imagine Keely this way. Besides you said you were going to visit her! Why didn't you!

Victor looked at Phil and exclaimed, "Are you really that slow that you don't see the problem?" Phil looked back with a hurt expression. Victor tried to calm down, reminding himself that Phil was only fifteen years old. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have yelled. This has probably been such a shock to you. It's just that you know so little. I was going to visit her, never considered anything else. It's just that when we got to the future all of Keely's life had already happened and the future had been changed. I hadn't gone back to the past yet because I had just arrived but Keely had been waiting for over a hundred years for me to visit. It's one of those circle paradox loop type things. When I came back to my cell I knew the only thing that could change this was if I went back and made sure the time machine was never fixed. Then we would never leave and I could be happy and Keely could be happy and the future world wouldn't be this dictatorship. Sure, my parents and sister wouldn't be happy to stay at first but they'd adjust. So I escaped and joined a rebel group fighting back against Keely. In that time I collected pieces of various machines trying to build my own time machine so I could go back. I tried many times but none of them worked. It wasn't until a week ago while I was out scouting the forest that I found something that gave me hope. It was the old RV. Sure, it couldn't go back in time yet and it was a fixer-upper but I had the necessary parts. I worked on it till it was at the minimum necessary for traveling. I went back and now I'm here."

Victor waited as Phil registered all that he had been told. He couldn't believe it. Not Keely! Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening and a woman's voice calling up, "Phil we're home."

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**A/N: And that ends a very long chapter. You know where the review button is. It encourages to me to write more so if you want to find out how the story turns out...**


	3. The Plan

**A/N: Ok I think this chapter has a slightly lighter note and I don't entirely likehow it turned out but it is mostly justa filler chapter. **

**Sultan Peppershaker: I figured that they lived longer by that time through like advances in different fields.**

**be234therz: Yeah Victor was just a random name I chose. :D**

**Hermione781: Time travel is just a completely confusing thing. The way I saw it is Victor scanned the room out of reflex from living ina time where that was necessary. It wasn't a conscious thing. Yup irony can be so frustrating.**

**koolishcutie112092, PHILandKEELY, zeusfluff, daydreamr'girl, PJM, Mokiemorty, and Crazy4Canes, here is the next chapter.

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Phil whispered, "You have so got to get out of here. If they see you and figure out who you are, then things are going to go crazy, and we'll have to explain everything, and you'll upset the space-time continuum even more then you want to and…Hey I was just rambling wasn't I? I can't believe I was rambling. I mean I don't ramble; sure Keely does but not me, not Phil Diffy. I would…. I just did it again didn't I?

Victor nodded his head. Phil said, "Well, my point is you have to hide or something."

Victor said, "Don't worry I have my Wizard here. I can make myself invisible and create a sound barrier around me. That way they can't see or hear me." Footsteps came up the stairs.

"Phil did you hear me?"

"Yes, Mom just one second." Phil called. Then he said softer, "Ok whatever you're going to do, do it now." Victor pointed the Wizard at himself and he was instantly invisible. He was just in time too because at that moment the door opened.

"Hey, Phil was everything alright while we were out?"

"Oh yes. Great. Amazing. Perfect even. I was here, all by myself, the whole time, here, all alone, doing nothing that could destroy the fabrics of time and space. Just doing my homework, in this room. Did I mention I was the only one here?"

"Yes Phil you did mention that. And you're starting to worry me, you're rambling again."

"Oh don't worry. Nothing to worry about. Why would there be anything to worry about? I mean this is me. I have a completely normal life of someone stuck in the 21st century. Everything is perfect. Never better. Nothing mind-boggling or odd going on. It's just homework stress." Phil said with a charming smile on his face despite his rambling.

"Well if you're sure…" As soon as Barbara left the room Phil's smile disappeared.

"Okay, now what. Stay calm Think Phil think. You must have a plan, you always have a plan. Well except for that one time where you had to go to Keely for help. That's it I'll tell Keely. Keely can fix everything." Phil started to leave but then realize what he had just done. "Great not only am I rambling but I'm also talking to myself. I have really got to stop doing that, because it was seriously weird." Phil tried to get through the open doorway. He couldn't. It was as if there was some sort of invisible force field across the door that wouldn't let him pass. The force then pushed him to the bed, forced him to sit down, and closed the door. Phil then watched as Victor reappeared. "Oops," thought Phil, "I forgot about him."

"You can't tell Keely. It could seriously damage her. I mean how weird would it be to you, if I just came up and said, "Hey Phil. Just wanted to let you know you go psycho when you grow up. Well, have a nice day." You are seriously not thinking here."

"I'm sorry ok. This thing is just so weird I'm still in shock. Ok give me a second." Phil then and did a few weird faces shaking his head every now and then. After about a minute he looked like he was done. "Alright, what's the plan?"

"Ok first thing we have to do is create an identity for me. Something that won't draw too much attention. We can't let anyone know who I am."

"Alright, how about uncle?"

"No because then you'll have to explain to Keely that I'm from the future and she'll say, _how did he get to the past? _and you'll say _time machine_ and she'll say _so that means you can go back_ and you'll say _no his broke too_. Seriously, what are thechances of that happening?"

"Ok I get the idea. No to the uncle. How about...famous news reporter doing a story on our school?

"That's so crazy it might just work! And Keely will love it. Now we have to go find the missing piece andmake sure our dad doesn't find it."

"That's great. So where is it?"

Victor sighed, "That's the problem. I don't know. But one step at a time right?

"Sure. Alright lets go."

And the two Phils left the room, armed with an identity, and ready for whatever the world could throw at them. Little did they know that their first challenge was coming up the stairs at that very moment.

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**A/N: Okay folks I'm sure you have read enough fanfic stories to know that this is the time where the author begs for reviews so here it goes. Please PLEASE just click that blue button and type a sentance or two or more.**


	4. The Encounters

**A/N: Okay here it is. Chapter 4. Thanks for all the loyal readers who have been reading this. Now for personal thanks for the loyal reviewers:**

**be234therz: Hope you're surprised. Glad you love it.**

**Sultan Peppershaker: Lol yah I'd say you're right. Ok folks click on the lilac button not the blue button. I repeat lilac button. That is true about the bridge chapters. Never realized it before. Yah cliffies are always fun if you're writing the story. Not so much if you're reading it. I know you like them from reading your stories. :)**

**CiTyGrL0912: Well you were partially right. I pulled in Pim later on. lol.**

**koolishcutie112092: And I would just like to say again. UPDATED!**

**sarafan101: Definitely weird. I'm not bringing Keely in just yet. But look for her in later chapters.**

**zeusfluff: Thanks for being a loyal fan and I hope you like this chapter.**

**Hermione781: Yup. Victor is in for some weird experiences.**

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**Victor closed the door and started down the stairs after Phil. Loud footsteps came clomping up the stairs and Victor heard Phil say, "Hey Curits! What's up buddy?" Then Phil and Curtis did a funky handshake. 

Curtis said, "Who big man behind Phil?"

"Oh this is Victor. He's a friend." Curtis walked over to Victor and started sniffing him.

Victor began trembling with rage till he finally pushed Curtis away and yelled, "Get away from me you primitive, hairy, treacherous, ape-man." Curtis looked at Victor with a hurt expression.

Then he turned to Phil and said in a most pitiful voice, "Phil wrong. Man no friend to Curtis." He then walked slowly past both of them.

When he was sure Curtis couldn't hear them Phil whispered to Victor, "What's you problem? Curtis wouldn't hurt anybody. He was just being friendly."

Victor, still trembling, whispered back, "It's just that when we got back Curtis did something terrible. He…he betrayed us. When I was part of the resistance I had a mission one time to spy on a nearby police camp. I left our resistance camp and ventured into the forest. I had been walking cautiously for nearly an hour and was nearing the camp. That's when I saw Curtis through a small space in the foliage. I was overjoyed, as I hadn't seen any of my family since we were separated. I had to hold myself back from running right out then and there and giving him a big hug. Instead I walked although quicker then I had been. Curtis still hadn't seen me. As I got closer I saw that Curtis was with two other men. And that Curtis was speaking fluent Standlow, which was the one and only language spoken anymore. Keely had invented it. I saw that Curtis was wearing the blue of the police same as the men around him. He was part of the police camp I was supposed to spy on! Well, I did what I completed my mission and returned to camp. I later found out that Curtis had joined willingly. Keely didn't have to threaten him or bribe him. That was the second last time I saw him."

They had reached the end of the stairs. Phil was saddened by what Victor had said. He had always thought that he could rely on Curtis. Phil just hoped there wouldn't be anymore emotional, future, surprises. Unfortunately, Phil wasn't so lucky. He had been just about to ask what happened during the second time Victor saw Curtis when the door swung open.

In walked Pim, looking like she had, had a bad day. Her hair was filled with gum and there were some rips in her clothes. She slammed the door and started walking towards the stairs without looking up. As she started to go up she bumped into Phil.

"The Fashion Zombies gave you a hard day at school." Phil stated sympathetically. Pim just nodded and didn't look up. She then tried to go around Phil and bumped into Victor. Pim looked up then because she knew that Mom and Dad were in the garage and that this figure was too big for Keely. Pim stared at the strange man standing before her. Then she looked from Phil, back to the man, to Phil again, and then her eyes stayed on the man.

Then she asked, "Phil. Who is this stranger and why does he look like you?"

Phil said slowly, "This is Victor. He's a reporter doing a story on our school. As for the resemblance… umm coincidence? Or maybe it's just you."

"I see. What's so important at our school that he has a story to write about? And why is he interviewing you?" Pim looked closer at the man. "And why is he crying?"

"Uh… he's here to write a story on… journalism in schools. And since I'm the cameraman at school. It's only right that he interview me." Phil looked at Victor worryingly. "As for the tears he's not really crying. He just… has something in his eye."

Pim stared suspiciously at both of them before shrugging and saying, "Suits me. I don't believe you but I have more important things to be doing then figuring out your life. Like how to get revenge on Candida and her crew." Victor was openly sobbing now. "And I suggest you rinse your eye out it must be pretty bad." Pim then tried again to get up the stairs but this time she was stopped by Victor's arms. He had reached out and pulled her into a big embrace. Then, realizing what he had done, he quickly dashed out the front door.

Phil and Pim both stood stunned for a moment till Pim said, "That reporter of yours has got some weird problems." She then shivered for a moment before climbing up the stairs and going into her room. Phil ran out after Victor and found him sitting on the front steps.

Phil sat down beside him and then said, "Let me guess. Another event from the future?"

Victor nodded his head. He paused for a moment wondering how to start. "It has to do with the second time I saw Curtis."


	5. The Starting Point

**A/N: Alright people I know an update finally! I am so sorry about the long wait but there was school and all. So here it is and don't hate me too much

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Phil stayed quiet knowing that Victor would continue without prodding. "We were on a recon mission. We didn't know whom we were rescuing. All we knew was that they were heavily guarded and that our Wizards would beep when we found them. The mission had been programmed and password locked into our Wizards. There were three of us. We snuck into the fortress behind the guards by making ourselves invisible. Since being forced into hiding we had created our own gadgets and our invisibility field was more advanced then what the guards knew to see through. Or a least that's what we were told. We got into the center room without any trouble at all. None of the guards gave us a second glance, no close calls, nothing. I probably should have been suspicious but I had been on three missions in the past two days and wasn't at my best. We were passing a locked room when the Wizard started beeping. We disabled the alarm and broke the door down. There was one figure lying in a heap in the middle of the room. As we got closer we saw that her clothes were soaked in blood. She had strong handcuffs that attached her arms together. Her left leg was attached to the back wall with a chain. I'm sure you can guess it was Pim.

I ran over to her and immediately started trying to tear the chains apart with my bare hands. I also almost immediately realized that this wasn't going to work and I brought out my Slicer and cut the chains. My companions were standing guard at the entrances. I picked her up and held her in my arms. She looked so small and fragile. I guessed that her captors had been starving her. I was nineteen at the time and she was sixteen. I hadn't seen her or any of my family since we were captured. I carried her out the entrance slowly. I was in no rush because I didn't want to wake her. She woke up anyways and looked at me. Her eyes looked so much older then she was. As if they had seen much suffering and pain. I looked into those eyes trying to find the Pim from all those years ago.

The face looking at me smiled and said, "You're still looking out for me."

"That's what big brothers do."

"Couldn't you have come here sooner? I've been waiting for what seems like forever and that floor was starting to get cold." I smiled there was the Pim I remembered. We had just reached the exit of the fortress when suddenly guards popped down out of nowhere surrounding Pim and me and blocking us off from my team. Then the leader stepped forward. It was Curtis. He pulled out a communicator and a face appeared before us. It was Keely.

"We've captured them your highness," said Curtis, "Your trap worked as expected."

"Excellent. You have served me well Curtis. As a final act of your loyalty I want you to shoot the girl. Make sure that He is watching." The screen winked out. I couldn't believe what she had just asked Curtis to do. And I couldn't believe that he actually carried through it. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at her heart. I started to reach out to kick him or anything but the other soldiers took Pim from me and held me back. I was strong but not strong enough to break free from the grip of the ten men holding me.

I yelled out to Pim. I told her I loved her. I pleaded with Curtis but he didn't budge. I didn't tear my eyes away as the bang of the gun going off filled the forest. I didn't hear the last words Pim said. The shot was too loud. My companions finally reached me and I was freed. I ran to try to get her body but the members of my group held me back. Tried to talk some sense into me. I didn't want to listen. I struggled. They finally knocked me out. When I awoke I was in a white bed. I never found out what happened to her. I'm not sure I want to know."

With Victor's story done Phil awkwardly put an arm around his shoulders. Victor brushed it off, "It's in the past now. Or future I guess. We need to focus on getting that piece to the time machine." Phil nodded and they stood up. "I think if my memory serves correctly Lloyd was spending some time at the Holiday Inn, in town. He had won a free week to stay there. That's probably where we should check first."

"That's all the way on the other side of town!"

"Well I think we could take the bus."

"The bus takes so long though."

"It's either the bus or we start walking now."

"Bus it is but what about my family? I can't just disappear. Hold on a second. I'll tell Pim I'm going out. Pim come down here!" Pim came down severely annoyed at having been disturbed.

"What do you want! I'm extremely busy!" Pim was giving Phil the death stare.

"I'm going to take Victor here to see the town so he can get familiar with it. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. Just tell Mom and Dad ok?"

Pim sighed and shrugged. "I might, or I might not. What's in it for me?"

"Listen I'll do your chores for a week just promise you will tell them."

Pim considered this then said, "Make it a month and you've got yourself a deal."

"Fine," said Phil and they shook on it.

Pim watched them leave. What was Phil up to? She thought about the project she was working on upstairs. Well that could wait whatever Phil was doing seemed more interesting. Pim quickly scribbled a note to Mom and Dad. Then she went upstairs, grabbed her Wizard and followed her targets secretly excited for this new adventure and always eager to catch her brother doing something he's not supposed to.


	6. The Intermission

**A/N: Hi it's me back with another chapter. Well this time I got it in before two months. There isn't any real plot advancement in this chapter so no big relevations and not much happens. It is mostly just setting up the situation and I know it is a little on the short side. I did have lots of fun writing it though and I do hope you have as much fun reading it.**

**I would like to take a moment to thank all my reviewers. All my past ones but especially CiTyGrL0912, Sultan Peppershaker, and superstar4life, who have stuck through the long update times. Sorry guys but thanks for not abandonning the story. I would also like to thank my new reviewers Wolf Wonderor, futuregirl18, and blondishbrownish, your support really helps. Thanks also to my other readers although I don't know who you are. Just to tell you it never hurts to let yourself be known and review**

**Now if you stuck through all that I congratulate you and admire your perseverance. Here is the next chapter.**

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"Hello! Anyone here." Phil called. Phil and Victor were standing in front of the check-in desk at the Holiday Inn. The hotel was nothing like what either of them had expected. It was run-down and looked like they hadn't had a guest in at least a year. Phil had reached for the cobweb-covered bell and given it a light tap. When no one came he hit it a few times harder. As they waited impatiently they were able to examine the lobby more closely. A thick layer of dust covered everything. There were a few lamps and light fixtures but the room was lit more by candles, which were placed strategically so that the whole room was covered with a dim glow. There was a giant portrait that showed a serious man. Probably the founder of the hotel. There were two couches, which had some of the stuffing missing. Neither man could figure out why their parents had wanted to stay here. When it became apparent that they were in for a long wait the two of them each settled on a couch grabbing an outdated magazine to read.

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Ollie was in the back room of the hotel watching his programs on the black and white television. That's all he did from 7:00 in the morning to 9:00 at night. He was hired at the hotel as the bellboy but he never had any work to do. He had been hired three months earlier but he had never seen his employer. They only communicated through letters left on the front desk, the occasional morning. Ollie was now watching his favourite show and he was getting impatient. He had known since the show started that the male lead and the female lead were going to get together. He had anxiously watched each episode getting excited over every awkward moment. Ollie could feel it in his bones; this would be the episode where they kissed. All through the first twenty minutes they had come close but never actually kissed. They had gotten together though and that was a big step. He vaguely heard a bell but was concentrating too much on the show. It was just getting to the climax. The boy had just come back to the girl after almost leaving her. The bell rang again and Ollie was sure he'd heard it this time. He momentarily considered ignoring it but then he remembered his job. He didn't want to be fired. He looked longingly at the T.V. before he entered the main lobby. There were two gentlemen sitting on the couches. One looked to be in his thirties, the other was a teenager. They both stood up when Ollie entered. "Yeah what do you want?" Ollie asked. He was hoping to deal with these two quickly so he could get back to the show. Eyeing the clock he saw that there were only ten minutes left before it was over. 

The older man said, "We would like to rent two rooms please for a week" Ollie was surprised. No one came in actually wanting to stay there; it was normally to ask for directions or to use the phone. Working through the shock Ollie reached behind the desk and pulled out two keys. The hotel had one floor of 20 rooms, which, for as long as Ollie worked there, were always empty. The two keys were for rooms 102 and 103. The older man paid and then they went upstairs to get settled. To Ollie's relief and puzzlement neither of them had luggage so he was able to get back to the show with seven minutes to spare. Unfortunately he walked in on a commercial. He started as the pictures flew by. Toothpaste, Stay Fit, New show. Finally the little animation they played before the show came back started playing. Ollie watched intently as the show came back. The two characters were standing close to each other but were not touching. The girl looked sad. Just as Ollie was starting to think up theories on why she was sad, that damn bell rang again. Ollie, again, got up reluctantly. It took all the self-control Ollie had to walk through the doorway as he heard dramatic music playing behind him.

Standing at the counter this time was a girl with blonde hair who was angrily hitting the bell. Ollie just stood in the doorway as the girl continued to hit the bell over and over again. Frankly the girl scared Ollie, and as much as he wanted to return to his program he could not bring himself to approach her. She looked like the kind of girl who was used to getting her way and if she didn't then everyone else had better get out of her way. She was even wearing a T-shirt that said, "Back off or else!" Yup Ollie was just going to stand still and hope that she went away.

Unfortunately the girl noticed Ollie and immediately went behind the counter menacingly. She grabbed Ollie by his shirt. "Do you work here?" she exclaimed in a demanding voice." Ollie nodded as he tried to swallow and say something more. She didn't even give him a chance.

"I want the best room you've got that is on the same floor as the two pea-brain guys who just came in here and is right beside them. I want the walls to be thick enough that they can't hear through to my side and there better be a mini-bar in my room. Most importantly of all the room cannot be under ANY circumstances pink! I want all this NOW! Do you understand?" The girl said all this without breaking the death stare she was giving Ollie. Ollie pointed nervously at a set of keys on the bulletin board behind the desk. The girl snatched them up and let Ollie go. He hurried to get as far away as possible from her without leaving the room. "Excellent. If all is in order I will pay you at the end of the week. And the other people staying here are under no circumstances to be informed of my presence here." The girl then went upstairs without luggage, just like the gentlemen.

Ollie walked slowly back to his room hoping that the girl didn't change her mind and come back down. As he stepped in the theme music from his favourite show was playing and rolling the credits. After all that Ollie had missed it! Ollie was devastated. He walked to the mini fridge he kept only partly filled. He pulled out an almost empty tub of ice cream and an already used spoon. As Ollie sat back down on the couch he contemplated the fact that the hotel had gotten the most business it had ever had in one day. Ollie also contemplated the fact that this business had caused him to miss his absolutely favourite show.

This stated to make his brain hurt though and he stopped. Instead he scooped out a spoonful of ice cream. It was his favourite, mint-chocolate. The show playing was also his favourite and the theme song had just started. This show was about two boys living in a hotel, although the hotel was a lot nicer than the one Ollie was working in. Ollie settled more into the couch and took another scoop of ice cream as the theme ended and the episode began. The previous show would be forgotten until the next day when the rerun came on.

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**A/N: Admit it you knew this was coming. On this page is a button. It allows you to review. Anyone who finds this button, pushes it, and then replys to the pop-up getsa baked good of his/her own choice.**


	7. The Growing Dilemmas

**A/N: Hi me again. If any of you have been following the story you will realize that instead of a chapter eight I have rewritten chapter seven. Here is my explanation. I was just writting chapter eight and was rereading chapter seven so that the story would flow. That's when I realized that chp. seven was long, tedious, and not much was accomplished or revealed. And then I read the beginning of chapter eight and realized it accomplished the same thing and then some. So there you have it. I would like to thank ****blondishbrownish for being upfront about the chapter and for actually telling me it stunk. So hopefully this chapter lives up to my story. Oh and just because of the long wait and how bad the other chapter was I have tried to make it longer than usual.**

**Review: Victor (Phil from the furthur future) arrives in the past to confront Phil. There is a long explanation (which if you'd like to know/remember you'll have to reread the previous chapters) which basically boils down to Victor and Phil having to find a missing piece of the time machine so that Llyod can't fix it. They have arrived at the hotel and rented their rooms. Unbeknowest to them, Pim has secretly followed them and also rented a room. If this doesn't give you enough of a refresher I strongly urge you to skim over the other chapters. And so on to the story.

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Phil and Victor first arrived in Victor's room. It didn't look that much better than the downstairs part. There was one bed that was low to the ground and mildly damp from a leak in the ceiling, or at least that's where they hoped it was from. There were a few hanging lights held by unstable looking cords that only shone on the spot directly below them. There was a small crooked table and a bathroom that looked clogged. Worst of all, hanging above the beds, was the framed head of a moose.

"Man, what a dump! I didn't even know there were moose in Pickford," said Phil as his nose wrinkled at the smell.

Victor's eyes traveled all over the room, taking everything in before he said, "I've lived in worse. Come on lets get started looking." Phil and Victor stood around the table. There must have been a vent or a crack near the ceiling because the light directly above the table was swinging back and forth giving the impression of a detective movie. Both men stood on opposite sides of the table and looked thoughtfully at the map Victor had brought and spread on the top. "Alright so we are here." Victor pointed to a red x. "I know for a fact that Mom and Dad didn't leave this side of town, so," Victor drew a red circle around half the town, "It could be anywhere in here."

"That doesn't narrow it down too much."

"I know. I think we should start…" suddenly the door blew open. Phil walked over and closed it, making sure the lock was on this time. "I think we should start at this hotel and work our way out," finished Victor.

"Alright I'll take the bottom half of the building, you take the top."

"Ok…. Mr. Fuzzy Bear," Victor said with a cheeky grin that Phil recognized as his own. It was the first time Victor had truly smiled since he had arrived.

"Huh?" Phil said with a confused look on his face, "What are you talking about?"

But Victor just smiled, "Don't worry you'll find out sooner than you think. Lets go, we're losing daylight."

Phil started to protest but Victor had already left the room. "Man," Phil thought, "I sure can move." Phil then exited the room too. A minute later the door opened slowly. It stood ajar for a couple seconds before closing just as slowly. If anyone had been on the floor at that time they could have heard the faint sound of footsteps fading down the hallway

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Phil Diffy was depressed. It had been a week since they had first arrived at the hotel and they had been searching the town from sunrise to sunset. And you want to know what they had found? Nothing! Absolutely NOTHING! In three weeks Dad was going to come to the hotel and somehow find the missing part and then they'd be gone! Phil was starting to think that maybe they should give up. He'd rather be spending his last days with Keely then here with his boring future self. Victor was so serious all the time. He couldn't joke around with him like he could with Keely. Even though the situation was horrible, if he was with Keely he would feel like everything would be all right. That it would have to work out. That everything would have to work out… "No that's just wishful thinking Phil," he told himself, "And where has that ever gotten you?"

Phil had long ago given up on wishful thinking. He had figured out that the only way to get something was to take action and do it yourself. When he was confronted with a problem or a goal he would strategize to try to fix it or achieve it. As much as he hated to admit it he and Pim were a lot alike. They both liked to be in control, admittedly sometimes going too far, and they both had very cunning brains, always trying to find the best strategy. The difference between Phil and Pim was that Phil had an inherently sweeter personality and was better at hiding the cold, calculating side of him. Phil's latest challenge was Keely. From the moment he had first seen her he had fallen head-over-heels in love, just like in the old-fashioned stories his Mom used to play him on the Cine-specs back in the future. Phil had gotten to know her as soon as possible. In the beginning it was just his luck that she liked who he was. He was happy to stay as a friend as he got to know her better. But when he began to feel that she was falling for him too, he started to throw in some well-planned comments to see what kind of reaction he'd get. When he would say something that would lead to an awkward moment he knew exactly what he was doing. Trying for another hug or another kiss or just another awkward moment that made him feel all giddy inside. Phil felt like he was at a barrier, pushing and pushing at it till he hopefully thought it would break and he and Keely would be together. "Oh don't get me wrong," Phil argued to himself, "I'm not a fake. What I say is completely me. It's just I'm manipulating myself to my advantage. There's nothing wrong with that. What I say is sweet and funny and I am sweet and funny. It's just not as innocent as I make it seem. Is there something wrong with that? Does that mean I'm not true to myself?" Phil flopped onto his bed stomach first. He was all jumbled up.

Phil heard Victor in the adjoining room, get up and turn the water on. The walls in the hotel were unbelievably thin. He followed Victor's path with his ears as he made his way from the closet to the sink to the shower. He heard the shower door slide open, Victor step in, and the re-muffled sound of the water as the door slid shut. Phil smiled; Victor was a creature of habit. At the same time each morning, without fail, Victor would wake up. Phil on the other hand couldn't stand doing the same thing too many times. Phil guessed that Victor would be through his first shampooing and would be reaching for the soap, which he dropped every morning. Phil heard a small thump, "Yup right on schedule." Phil glanced at the clock; Victor would probably be another twenty minutes. Phil reached for the map of Pickford to go over yet again where they'd been when suddenly he heard another thump. "That's weird," Phil thought, "That didn't come from Victor's room. It came from the opposite side." He quietly made his way over to the other wall so as not to miss any other noises. He stood with his ear pressed to the wall not moving for a good five minutes. When Phil started to feel his muscles cramping from staying in the awkward position for so long, he returned to his bed. "That's the second time this morning." All week long Phil had heard small sounds like someone else was up here with them. Not anything too noticeable but yet they were still there. Phil had asked the bellboy downstairs if there were any other guests here but he insisted he and Victor were the only ones. He then locked himself in the back room and refused to come out.

Victor thought Phil was crazy. Victor didn't hear these strange incidents of shuffling and thumping that Phil heard left and right. "Well," Phil corrected himself, "He did seem to hear something on the first day." They had been in the room discussing strategy when Victor had suddenly gone motionless and cocked his head as if listening to something. Phil went silent too and tried to hear what he heard but couldn't. After about half a minute Victor zoned back in and laughed it off saying he though he heard something. Then later at night, Phil had heard Victor turn restlessly in his bed over and over again. When Phil asked about it though, he just said something about footsteps pacing back and forth. Ever since that day though Victor hadn't seemed to hear anything. "Maybe he's right," Phil chuckled, "Maybe I am crazy. I just don't know though. I bet if Keely were here she could clear this up for me once and for all. Oh Keely..."

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Victor let the water run down his skin. It felt good, like he was washing away his troubles. Three weeks left, that's all they had three weeks. Victor moved his hands through his hair as he mixed the shampoo in. Victor liked the shower because it was a time where he didn't need to think. As the bottle said just lather, rinse, repeat. As a matter of fact it was time for the rinsing part now. He placed his head under the nozzle and cleared his mind of everything. 

After his hair was chemical free, Victor reached for the soap. As he brought it to his arm he suddenly had a moment of pure panic and the soap fell from his hand, hitting the floor with a load thump. He couldn't feel anything. He was no longer aware of the water running down him, or of his hand as he desperately rubbed it along his arm. He felt disconnected from the world. He couldn't feel the air going into his nose and mouth although he knew he was still breathing or he'd be unconscious. He groped around the stall desperately trying to find any sense of touch. And as suddenly as it left him, it came back. Victor gratefully felt his hair, his head, his arms. Shaking, he reached down for the chipped soap and started yet again to spread it over his body. Victor forced himself to take deep breaths, in through in nose and out through his mouth. As the week progressed Victor had at times noticed that he wasn't a sharp as he normally was, wasn't as quick to react. Sometimes he had trouble hearing or his vision became blurry. Sometimes, Victor even felt like he was outside his body. As if he were watching him and Phil through the eyes of a third party. Victor couldn't quite explain it but he was beginning to feel like he didn't belong to this world anymore. Like he was an outsider intruding in on a group that wanted nothing to do with him.

Victor sighed and tried to regain control of his mental wanderings. Shower time wasn't for thinking. He let his mind wander over his memories, only the happy ones of course. Him and Keely playing tennis. Him and Keely at the park, swinging on the swings. Him and Keely sharing an ice cream. Him and Keely kissing for the first and only time. Victor sighed; all his happy memories seemed to involve Keely. "She did always know me better than I knew myself." What then had made her think that he wasn't coming back? Other then the long wait. He had promised for Pete's sake, and she should know that he always kept his promises. "Well it was a long time," he thought to himself as he defended Keely like he always did when he thought about this. It was over a hundred years. She can't be expected to wait for me that whole time. "But I hadn't gotten there yet. There was nothing I could do!" Victor thought as he went back to defending himself. Victor could go for hours at a time like this. Blaming himself, blaming his parents, blaming Keely, blaming time for being so annoyingly ironic.

Victor missed Keely so much. The old Keely, the sixteen year old who could point out his faults and yet still love him all the more for them. Who could take a serious situation and make the tension go away, however briefly, by some remark she'd make or action she'd do, almost as if it were written in a script. Victor would bet every last dollar he had, that if Keely were here with him, she would be able to help him find the different angle on this whole situation that he was missing. Some little thing that was right in front of him, but that he was too distracted to notice until Keely would point it out. Victor longed to go and see the Keely Teslow that was sitting in her house, a perfectly sane teen, at this very moment. But that was one thing he had promised to himself on both his and Phil's behalf. He would stay away from Keely. He had lost his chance. But maybe Phil could change the future for the better. Keely would have wanted it that way. Besides, if he went and visited her what would he expect? Keely wasn't in love with Victor, she was in love with Phil Diffy. And Victor had aged too much both physically and emotionally to ever be Phil Diffy again. But oh how he missed her, Keely, his Keely. Oh Keely.

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Pim Diffy typed furiously at her laptop. She had been up since five in the morning trying to organize her findings and put the pieces of the puzzle together. All week long she had been following Phil and "Victor". Well not her specifically. After the first day, Pim had realized that it would be more productive to have Replicates follow them instead with small cameras attached to them. That way Pim could easily monitor and record them, especially when they split up. She minimized the document she was typing and brought up a map she had made to track the two men's movements. It seemed like they had made a clean sweep of the entire town. Not a rock left unturned. Pim was positive they were looking for something. She just had to figure out what. "Well Pim, lets do it like Galacta Girl's crime-solving cousin, Galacta Girl's Second Cousin Thrice Removed, would do it. Let's start by reviewing the facts." 

1. Phil gets a much older friend who looks like him

2. They leave for a week and stay at a semi-abandoned hotel

3. They wander around every part of the city

4. They…

Pim was out of points. At least until a little screen popped up with a small beep. The window read "Hair analysis complete". Pim had managed to obtain a strand of Victor's hair and had run it through the DNA scanner attachment on her computer. It had finally finished and Pim pulled up the results. She quickly scanned through the results. What she found wasn't what she was expecting but in a world of futuristic gadgets wasn't that surprising. It seemed that Victor was Phil. An older Phil at least. Immediately two theories popped into Pim's head.

Number one.

Victor is a Replicate of Phil that has been aged with the New-Ager.

Number two.

Victor is Phil from the future, who travelled to the past.

There was only one way to find out. Run another test. Not just any test though. A Fluxicate Residual test. For you see the New-Ager the Diffys' owned was the Beta model. It had been found in various studies when the New-Ager Beta model was still being tested, that when a living thing was aged the transformation left residual materials on the DNA of said object. Scientist coined the name Fluxicate for these harmless materials. Or at least harmless according to four-dozen tests. No one was entirely sure whether Fluxicate didn't cause any side effects to the living thing but it was deemed safe enough to be released to the general public, as there were no short-term effects. Since it was first tested there seem to be no harmful long-term effects although it has not yet been possible to remove the Fluxicate.

This scan was a lot quicker than the hair analysis one and within the time it took you to read the last paragraph it was done. The results showed that there were no traces of Fluxicate in Victor's DNA. "So," Pim thought, "that must mean that he's from the future. But why would he come back?" Pim thought and thought and thought and then said, "Ah why bother coming up with theories when I can just look into the future with my Virtu-goggles. Pim grabbed her goggles and started to set the destination. Her fingers approached the controls but then hesitated when she realized that she didn't have a clue what to set it to. For lack of concrete co-ordinates Pim just typed in "the day Victor Diffy traveled back in time" and hoped that it got her where she wanted to go.

Pim placed the goggles on her eyes and then nearly pulled them off again at the unexpected sight before her. There was destruction everywhere. Buildings torn down, no grass in sight, and robots patrolling the street. Pim nearly laughed. "Wow, I must actually grow up to take over the world. This is so cool." Pim glanced around taking everything in. She suddenly noticed a big screen. The screen flashed through a countdown with the words "standby" written underneath. Pim grinned in anticipation. Her future self must be coming on to speak. The countdown reached zero and the screen flashed the words, "All hail our ruler." Pim was so excited, she was living her dream. The screen flashed again and then the words read, "Keely Teslow" and then showed the face of an old lady. Pim reeled and her mind screamed in defiance. How could this be? How could Blondie take her glory?

Pim tore her goggles off and threw them on the floor making a loud thump. How could she! There was no way! She wasn't nearly smart enough! Pim wanted to scream. Slowly she calmed herself down. She didn't want to give away her position. In fact she might have even compromised it with that thump she made. Pim stood still not making a sound although her mind was still screaming in indignation. "That must be why Victor's here." Pim thought, "to stop Blondie's rule. Well that seems like a good idea. If anyone's going to rule the world, it's going to be me. Alright first things first, I've got to figure out what Phil and Victor are looking for. Then I've got to use it to fix the future so it's me in charge NOT Blondie. Then I have to go home and watch five straight hours of television. Oh yeah.

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Ollie carefully held the letter as if it would explode at any second. It was the first thing from the outside world he had come in contact with in a week. Ever since the teenage boy staying in the hotel had tried to talk with him. He had tried to get Ollie to tell him whether there was anyone else in the hotel and Ollie was horrible at secrets. He had quickly told him "no" and then ran into the backroom and hadn't been out since. He had woken up from sleeping on the couch and had found this letter pushed under the door. It was addressed to Ollie. Ollie carefully turned the envelope over. The last letter he had gotten was a birthday invitation when he was eight. He never even got junk mail. The only mail he did receive was the paper he on rare occasions got at the front desk from his employer telling him of small details like the beds should be made with green sheets instead of blue sheets but those had never been in an envelope before. The stamp on the back was the same symbol that all Ollie's paychecks were signed with. Ollie opened the envelope and let the contents spill out in front of him. There was one single piece of paper. It was short and to the point. A list of instructions signed with the same symbol that kind of resembled a P and a D. They seemed simple enough. Ollie would get right on it. After he had a small break of course and finished eating his favourite chocolate bar. Oh Henry.

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**A/N: So if you were paying any attention you will notice alot of things werehinted here and alot of things were set in motion. And as a warning if you're confused now about the whole "future" and "past" thing...it's only going to get weirder although I'll try to do it in the way least likely to give you a headache. I have a great plot cooked up and hope there's still interest in the story. As always review, I really do appreciate and listen to the feedback.**


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